“We’re creatures of habit,” Calgary Flames defenceman Travis Hamonic explained. “And the habit is to go on your phone at 8 o’clock at night and check the next day’s schedule and then get in your car and have your coffee and drive, see the guys, work out, meetings … It’s repetitive all season long, and then all of a sudden, you wake up, and you don’t have that. It takes a little while to adjust, truthfully … it sucks.

“It’s a weird, empty feeling.”

There was some bittersweet irony in the fact that the Flames wrapped up the 2017-18 National Hockey League season with Saturday’s emphatic 7-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, an inspiring and offensively charged performance against a team that had ran the table in the Western Conference for much of the year.

Sure, it was a nice send-off for their home fans, many of whom had grown frustrated and furious with the Flames in recent weeks and understandably during a seven-game losing skid.

And it gave a few players a boost, namely Mark Jankowski, who scored four goals and his first NHL hat-trick, Johnny Gaudreau, who snapped a seven game goal-less streak, and Spencer Foo and Jon Gillies, who were both dispatched to the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat on Sunday along with Rasmus Andersson.

But let’s not forget the fact that the Flames ended the season with just their second win in the final 11 games and spent the month of March in a downward spiral that eventually landed them a 20th-place finish in the 31-team loop.

“Reality sets in in about half-week when the playoffs start and you start watching other teams play for the (Stanley) Cup,” said Flames captain Mark Giordano. “The other side of it is you know there’s going to be guys who were in this room all year and won’t be here next year. It’s just the way the NHL is now. With the (salary) cap, players change teams all the time.

“That’s the other side of it that sucks.”

Truth be told, Sunday’s end to the season is no shock. Meanwhile, Monday’s garbage-bag day/final exit meetings have been anticipated since the Flames were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 3-0 road loss to the Los Angeles Kings on March 26.

Meaning that reality set in two weeks ago.

“When we were eliminated, it was a shock to us because it was so promising going into the season,” said Flames blueliner Michael Stone. “We had a good group of guys, we looked like we were capable of doing some good things, and then it just didn’t happen — and it’s kind of a shock.”

The Flames were last in a playoff position on Feb. 25, occupying the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference.

A month later, their playoff dreams were over.

Now, their season is officially over.

“Last year, when we were out, it was a shock losing so quickly,” Stone said of the Flames four-game sweep at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks during the 2017 NHL playoffs. “But I had a different interest in watching playoffs because my brother (Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone) was in it. But I can honestly say .. I’m a hockey fan, but the way I feel right now, I don’t want to watch anything.

“I really don’t.”

Ditto for Jankowski.

“It’s going to be tough,” said the 23-year-old who completed his first NHL season Saturday. “When we got eliminated, I said, ‘There’s not a chance I’ll watch a game. It’s going to be too tough.’ And I’m a hockey fan … that’s one of the highlights ever since I was little is watching the playoffs growing up. Now, there’s a definitely different feel to it.”

Every NHLer can agree that there is something magical about the post-season, when your game routine stays the same but the stakes of each night are so much higher.

“Playoff hockey is the most fun hockey,” said Hamonic. “There’s no better feeling than driving to the rink and seeing the signs in stores and buildings and flags on cars and the support you get. And then the feeling you get when you get on the ice … There’s just nothing like it.

“That’s what we play for, so there’s definitely a feeling of emptiness (Sunday) when you wake up and it’s over.”

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